tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778743155448259302.post3855322188579646469..comments2023-01-17T08:20:40.994-08:00Comments on Practical Distributism: PriceDavid W. Cooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03447605091816577300noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778743155448259302.post-10067992002229512432016-02-13T04:21:22.610-08:002016-02-13T04:21:22.610-08:00Yes, it is true that quality items can cost more t...Yes, it is true that quality items can cost more to buy because they can cost more to produce. However, we should not blithely accept outrageous prices because that is unjust - especially to those who cannot afford those higher prices. <br /><br />We also should not accept price manipulation through hidden subsidies which favor big business over independent local businesses. David W. Cooneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03447605091816577300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778743155448259302.post-9264286340769014872016-01-30T09:29:41.299-08:002016-01-30T09:29:41.299-08:00Is there something necessarily bad about buying fe...Is there something necessarily bad about buying fewer goods at a higher price? If the quality of the goods I buy is much higher, why should I care if I can buy fewer? I'd rather buy one well-made, efficient and highly capable cordless drill and hand it down to my son at the end of my life than buy a new one every so often at a lower price because they fail after a few uses. Even an egg, from chickens raised on fresh pasture, in the sun and moved frequently to fresh ground, will have up to 7 times the amount of some nutrients. Who cares if I have to pay double? I can eat half, get much more nutrition and be satisfied.notretsechkghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15950942983170052171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778743155448259302.post-43696189573410114022015-10-06T05:58:18.599-07:002015-10-06T05:58:18.599-07:00No, Daniel,
As has been stated many times. The pr...No, Daniel,<br /><br />As has been stated many times. The price per good we think we have under the current system is artificially low due to many government subsidies which hide the true market price from us. We are still paying the full price, but part of it is through general taxation instead of at the point of sale. That is how our current system really works.Practical Distributismhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726967836523471352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778743155448259302.post-60707292165564259342015-10-05T20:52:29.846-07:002015-10-05T20:52:29.846-07:00Yes, that is exactly the strategy the model calls ...Yes, that is exactly the strategy the model calls for.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778743155448259302.post-63682435368411524372015-08-22T08:54:41.292-07:002015-08-22T08:54:41.292-07:00Donald,
I'd like to expand on my initial resp...Donald,<br /><br />I'd like to expand on my initial response to your question. To begin with, your question was about a situation that is different than what is illustrated in the article. Your question was about what things will be like "under the distributist model," but the article is about what things actually are like under the capitalist model which you referred to as a consumerist society.<br /><br />Under our (Keynesian) capitalist model, wages are too low to allow people to purchase as much as they do. This has created the need to create ways for people to be able to purchase more than they can afford. One way is through government subsidies which artificially lower costs or otherwise support the consumer in ways that free up their low income and allow them to purchase more. These subsidies are hidden in various ways, but people should, and need to, realize that our entire world-wide distribution model about which capitalists have frequently boasted is one big government subsidy. Another way is through the availability of credit which allows people to purchase more than they can afford at a cost which, because of interest, ends up being much higher than the "purchase price." In other words, our consumerist society lives under the illusion of low prices - an illusion that begins to crack when the bills pile up or when some subsidies are threatened to stop. <br /><br />Every book on economics I have ever read talked about the way that market competition is an absolute necessity for a fair and free market. Competition is what keeps wages up, working conditions good, and prices low. Under the distributist model, there would be much more competition - more producers of goods and providers of services - in every sector. Since one effect of this is that wages will be higher, I think it is fair to argue that cost compared to income under a distributist model would be better than it is under the capitalist model even if the dollar amount on the price tag is higher for individual items. Costs won't be hidden under subsidies, but people will be earning more money and have more choices on where and how to spend it. <br /><br />However, as I said, the article is not addressing the distributist model. It is addressing trying to move toward that model while still living under the capitalist model. Under capitalism, the small independent business is placed at an extreme disadvantage because big business uses its economic power to manipulate all levels of government to its own advantage - to acquire the subsidies that are not made available to small businesses. Not only are they not available to small businesses, but small businesses end up having to pay the taxes to support the subsidies that will help the big business shut them down. This is the reality under which we currently live and it is a reality to which many people who consider themselves capitalist would oppose. The point of the article is that those of us who are trying to achieve distributism need to help those who consider themselves to be "capitalists" see how their actions are actually helping something which they oppose, and working against that which they openly say they support. <br /><br />However, this is only the case while we are still under capitalism. If a distributist model is ever implemented, the situation would be different.Practical Distributismhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726967836523471352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778743155448259302.post-39975926511757133892015-08-22T08:01:18.987-07:002015-08-22T08:01:18.987-07:00A key component of our strategy is for people to r...A key component of our strategy is for people to realize that the real prices they are seeing today are not as low as they think. Many things in the grocery store cost much more than the price on the shelf because we are also paying for a government subsidy to the producers - the actual price is just hidden from us. Other items, like technology, would cost more under the distributist model, but that is because distributism would not accept using manufacturers who treat their employees so bad that they commit suicide, as was revealed is the case for the manufacturers of many of our most popular electronic gadgets.<br /><br />http://distributistreview.com/mag/2010/10/whats-wrong-with-free-trade-and-outsourcing/Practical Distributismhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726967836523471352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2778743155448259302.post-11604744709214807392015-08-21T12:33:50.001-07:002015-08-21T12:33:50.001-07:00Isn't a key component of your strategy that th...Isn't a key component of your strategy that the middle class be willing to accept fewer goods, at a higher price per good, rather than today's consumerist society in which people are able to buy more goods because the price of each good is less that it would be under the distributist model?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15980007500770485009noreply@blogger.com